Fourteen years of waiting for resettlement land have left former tobacco estate workers at Nthunduwala Camp in Kasungu South West destitute, despite visits by authorities promising action since 2012. The camp, about half an acre in size hosts 127 households living in grass-thatched makeshift shelters that sometimes leak during heavy rains.
Camp chairperson Stanley Lyson Nkhoma says life at the camp has been miserable, despite continuous promises of relocation.
“We have no food because we have nowhere to farm. We lack basic necessities like clothes because poverty has made them unaffordable. We are not beggars — we have the potential to provide for ourselves, but what we lack is land for resettlement. Our plea is that we need land as soon as possible to escape this extreme poverty,” said Nkhoma.
On Tuesday, Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development Chimwemwe Chipungu visited the camp and described the situation as pathetic, saying the ministry will develop a plan to find land for their resettlement and farming. Chipungu assured the people that government will soon identify land for relocation.
“They have been living here for 14 years, and to say it will be resolved tomorrow would be dishonest. We need to plan and involve other relevant stakeholders who can help. In the short term, we will engage donors to provide food and shelter so that living conditions here can improve,” said Chipungu.
When tobacco estates closed, the households had nowhere to settle as most had made the estates their homes for generations. They later moved into a protected area in Kasungu National Park, from where they were evicted and relocated to the camp with a promise that they would stay for only a week before being allocated land for resettlement.
By Topson Banda
#KCRnews
#Yourpartnerindevelopment